"Dad, I don't need to hear about that."
He chuckled and pushed past the veil of hanging curtains to an inner cloister filled with incense smoke and soft lyre music playing over the moans of men and women on the red carpets. Sam approached the cushioned sofa and knelt in front of Cleopatra. He took her hand and kissed it before addressing her in English. "You look as ravishing as ever, My Queen."
"What have you gotten yourself into this time, Sammy?" The regal-looking woman with the black hair that hung to her chin and the curves covered by a tight white lace dress licked her ruby lips as she smiled at Jack. "Who is this young strapping boy?"
"He's taken, I'm afraid. He's my son."
"I didn't know you had a son."
"I didn't, either. Jackson, don't you know what you do when you are in the presence of a queen?"
Jack rushed up to his father's side and fell to his knees. He bent over to touch his forehead to the soft carpet. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty. I'm sorry."
"He's adorably timid. Where did he get that?" Cleopatra asked. "Not from you, Sammy."
"You know he'll stay like that until you tell him it's okay."
Cleopatra reached down and tapped Jack on the head with her nails. "Hello? Little Sammy, look at me. It's all right. How old is he, Sammy?"
"Seventeen."
Jack looked up at her. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, aside from not telling your daddy to bring you here sooner. Stand, both of you. I get so bored with the formalities. Can't you tell we're having a party? Don't tell me the Syndicate Director can't party anymore. Or did you not come here for my party, Sammy?"
Sam flashed his teeth with a giant grin. "My Queen, you are certainly perceptive."
"What can I help you with?"
"One of your representatives purchased a slave this afternoon in my village at an auction. I hate to do this, but I need to get him back. See, he's actually my son's Time Knight."
"He let his Time Knight get taken by slavers?" Cleopatra scraped her toes against Jack's soft chin stubble. "Ah, the follies of youth. Which one was he? Don't tell me he's my Persian cream puff. He's my new favorite. He's a bit injured from some rough treatment, but he'll be perfection within a month."
Persian cream puff? Jack bit back a giggle.
"It's him, My Queen."
"Oh, then we might have a problem. See, my Persian is so well-behaved, even before training. He took to serving me like a fish takes to water. He should be coming around soon with some refreshments. Go have a seat at that table over there and enjoy yourselves until he turns up. Then we will discuss possible payments, Sammy."
"As always, you are gracious, My Queen." Sam bowed again then took Jack's arm in an iron vice-like grasp. He led him over to the polished wooden table and set him down in one of the chairs. "Don't touch anything. I'm doing what I can."
"She speaks English."
Sam sat as well then picked up a cup of wine that was waiting there for him. "She's been around. Like I said, business. She's an ally of the Syndicate."
"I see." Jack looked around to take the party in, trying his best to keep his gaze away from the groups of dancing women. Shirtless male servants began entering the courtyard, balancing trays of desserts and snacks that they delivered to the patrons. That's when Jack spotted him enter the area they were in.
Niki was wearing a long purple skirt adorned with golden embroidered filigrees, golden chains looped around his neck, and glittering sandals on his feet. He had been bathed and his open wounds had been restitched with fresh sutures. Niki's skin glowed a deeper rich brown from the hours in the sun and was glossy with oils that had been massaged into his bare chest and back. His cheeks had been swiped with rouge and his eyes had been lined with black charcoal. Two gold bands rested on his upper arms, defining his muscles. The sapphire earrings hung from his ears, the same as the other servants who tended to the needs of the guests. At least he appeared to be well taken care of.
"Niki."
"I see him." Sam waved to Niki, catching his attention. "He's coming."
Niki carried a tray of flaky pastries filled with chopped pistachios and coated with honey over to the table and set it down. He knelt before Jack, the golden chains around his neck tapping against Jack's slippers. As he whispered, the musky smell of perfumes wafted up from him. "Help me."
Jack took his friend's face in his hands. "Did they hurt you?"
"No. They tended to my wounds, actually. They seem to know what they're doing. I feel a lot better. Then managed to stitch up something inside me and the bleeding has stopped. Who knew ancient Egyptian medics were this good? Though, I suspect they used some modern tools. Cleopatra isn't only from here."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"She's a Chronomancer."
Sam waved his hand. "Of course she is. She works with the Syndicate often."
"She knew what I was and I saw her mark. It's on her wrist under those bracelets. Get me out of here. I heard enough to know what happens to me tonight. We're expected to entertain her guests in the bedrooms."
"Told you. It's okay, Niki. I have this under control." Sam stood and stretched his arms over his head. He helped Niki into his chair. "Take my chair, Niki. I'll go have a word with the queen."
"She won't let me leave."
"Trust me. I have some leverage around here."
Niki looked to be on the verge of either crying or laughing hysterically. "It's been one hell of an afternoon."
"Is Thyme here with us?"
"I don't know."
"So, no one touched you?" Jack asked.
"They bathed me, rubbed me with oil, and patched me up. Nothing too inappropriate. The initial slavers got overly touchy-feely when they were inspecting me, but that didn't last long. They looked a bit scared about my injuries, so they left me alone."
"What about when you were in that cage?"
Niki wiped away a few drops of excess oil that pooled on his chest. "I guess they saw how beat-up I already was. They kept me in the cage to protect me from other slaves, actually. There was a bigger one, a guy that had it out for me as soon as I joined them. He saw the earrings I was wearing and decided he wanted to hurt me for it. It was the earrings that got me put in the cage, though. Saved my life."
"Why did Cleopatra choose you?"
"No idea. Maybe she knew. Maybe she wanted to help. I can only understand a few words of Egyptian, though. The medics seemed to actually care about me. One of them spoke some broken, ancient Persian, so I was able to talk to him. The way they were whispering, they thought my injuries were pretty bad."
"They are bad. They are. You can't just ignore them and hope they'll go away."
"What about yours?" Niki touched the collar of Jack's tunic where one of the swollen welts showed on the top of his shoulder. He pulled it down, exposing more raw wounds. "Did someone whip you?"
"Ten times with a leather strap and tried to drown me. Slavers."
"Then that man bought you?" Niki asked. "He looks wealthy."
"He's Samuel Carter, my father."
"Are you serious? This just keeps getting stranger."
Sam came back over to the table. "Nikolas Valentino, you now belong to me. Let's get you out of here. Remove your earrings and give them back to the queen. You can take them to her yourself. She requested to speak with you before we leave."
He shot a hesitant glance at Jack before removing his earrings and tiptoeing over to Cleopatra. He knelt down before her and held out the sapphire earrings. Niki's muscles tensed in his back when the queen's hand patted his head. He glanced up at her when she said something to him. He nodded his head as Cleopatra smiled. The queen rubbed his head then pulled him closer to her before she planted her lips on his. The kiss grew more passionate by both parties until they were breathing heavily and moaning.
Jack rolled his eyes and shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
Sam snickered. He whispered to Jack. "You were right ab
out the fantasy part."
"It's ridiculous."
"Has he always been like this?" Sam asked.
"Ever since he was like fourteen."
"Just like his daddy."
Jack grimaced when Niki and Cleopatra began sucking on each other's lips. "How long do we watch this? I'm getting sick."
Sam coughed. "Cleo, you're going to scar the poor boy by spoiling him this early in his life with your beauty."
Cleopatra licked Niki's nose then leaned back on the sofa. "Go on, my Persian cream puff. Go protect your Chronomancer. I want you to remember our kiss, though. Can you do that for me?"
Speechless, Niki nodded his head.
"Good. Bye bye."
Sam hoisted Niki up and guided him out of the courtyard. "Let's go, boys. I've had enough of this place for tonight."
"Niki, What did she say to you?" Jack asked.
"She said I would have been a perfect servant and she . . . thanked me . . . for being so sexy. I still got it."
Sam shook his head. "You're a mess."
"I kissed a queen. Betcha can't top that."
The Director of the Syndicate would not be outdone. He held his head high as he proclaimed his conquests. "I slept with her."
Jack grimaced. "What? Dad, ugh, what?"
"To the camel, boys. We still have a long ride ahead of us."
"What did she say to you, Dad?" Jack asked.
"She wants my help with a case and she asked for you to come, Jack. She thinks it will be a good way for you to learn what the Syndicate does. Working this case for her was my payment for you, Niki."
Niki hung his head as he followed along. "I'll pay you back however I can."
"Helping us will be all the payment necessary."
"We're doing this now?" Jack asked.
"You have somewhere else to be?" Sam asked.
There was someone back in the present who needed him, if he was in the present. "My sage boy, my . . . son, he's somewhere missing."
"He's probably still in the present, Jack." Niki offered some reassurance. "Dean and Leo will take care of him. You know that."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Sam put his arm across his son's shoulders. "You called him your son."
"He sees me as his father. I'm sure Ellie won't mind. Niki, I hadn't told you that. Don't be mad, please."
The Time Knight voiced his support, but his smile had vanished. "No, I'm not mad. I think it's great. You'll be a great dad."
"I hope so."
Sam cleared his throat to change the subject when they reached the post where the camel was tethered. "We are needed at the local temple in the morning to interview the priests and find out whatever we can. For tonight, we're going back to my home and we're going to relax. I'll have Allen make us some more food. If you don't mind, I'll take a look at your injuries, Nikolas."
"All right."
"A temple?" Jack asked, climbing onto the camel's back.
"The temple of Serapis. Priests have been reporting the presence of . . . demons."
He reached down to help Niki up behind him. "Demons?"
"I don't believe they're demons."
"Are demons real?" Jack asked. "Is Zurvan a demon, Dad?"
"Who told you that?"
"An inquisitor."
Sam mounted the camel then ordered it to stand. "Zurvan is difficult to explain, especially if you haven't experienced certain things yet."
Jack watched as his father turned around to look at Niki as if asking him a question with his eyes.
Niki shook his head and turned away.
"What was that?" Jack asked.
Sam continued. "In time, you'll come to understand. For now, I want you boys to be quiet. Look at the stars, take measure of where you are. I want you to think about the moment, nothing else. Feel the breeze on your skin, smell the water and the camel, listen to the locusts filling the night with their call. We all need to take a breather and truly reflect on the way we feel for each other. You may not want to talk about it or admit it, but there is something straining the bond you two have. I can read people, boys. You may feel like the other has let you down. Maybe you think they don't care the way they used to. Maybe you blame the other for something that you would never say out loud. It's there, though. Gather your thoughts and acknowledge them before that bond is broken. Quiet now. We have a ways to go, yet."
Jack leaned against Niki's knee as he sat between his legs. He felt his friend's warm skin on him until the stillness of the desert night fell across them. It was the first time in a while that he had been given a chance to simply think. His life was in ruins, shattered pieces that had been strewn on the winds to places he wouldn't be able to reach. Everything he had been planning for, his hopes and dreams, his friendships, his college education, his acting career, his wishes of a life with Ellie and two children while living next door to Niki until the three of them grew old together . . . they were gone.
He had no way to know what the next day would bring. More pain? More regret? More enemies that he would have sworn were his friends? Two months ago, he was a normal junior in high school who stayed up late watching scary movies or playing video games with his two best friends or going to concerts for their favorite rock bands. His biggest fear had been failing his next algebra exam or forgetting his locker combination. Jack had tried his hardest to plan out his life after graduation, taking the tests he needed to take, applying for the right scholarships, and staying out of trouble.
He sat up straight so he wouldn't be touching Niki's leg anymore.
Something his father had said gnawed at his insides. Was there something unspoken driving a rift between him and Niki? There had been an emotion on the night he found that Niki was being transferred to Guantanamo. It was a feeling that he had hidden, one he was ashamed of, but it was there, nonetheless, trapped beneath the fear and worry. It was relief. Relief that he could start over on his own. Relief that he wouldn't be lumped in with Niki's actions. Relief that the one bad influence, the lawless blemish in his life, was being removed.
By the time they reached Sam's house in the quiet village, the night was dark with only a sliver of moonlight setting the reeds near the river aglow. Mr. Allen was waiting outside, sitting beside the camel with a blanket and a bowl of olives, being obedient with his punishment of sleeping with the camels.
He scurried to his feet and bowed. "Welcome home, sir."
Sam wasted no time in giving orders to his Time Knight. "Go inside and start a fire. Put on some tea and make some food for our new guest."
"Right away. Who is he?"
"Nikolas Valentino."
Allen beamed. "Leo's son. Oh my. He's so handsome."
Jack slid from the camel's back. "In the future, he's your stepson. He's your stepson who you videotape while he's tortured and raped with a meat hook in a freezer. You lit the cigarettes they used to burn him."
"I would never-"
He interrupted him. "Get it through your head. You do. You're a monster."
"You said he was my stepson?" Allen asked.
"You marry Shadi Valentino after she divorces Leo."
"Oh my goodness." Allen's shoulders slumped. "Please listen to me when I say that I wouldn't harm him or anyone else. Samuel can vouch for me. I don't like hurting people, even when it's to protect him."
"He's telling the truth, you know?" Sam asked, removing a bag from the camel's back. "He's a coward."
Allen stomped his feet. "Sam!"
"Get inside and follow my orders, or I'll let the slavers have a go at you until you learn to obey. You're already on thin ice with me after you forgot my extra clothes. Now, do it."
The cutting words forced him into submission. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."
When Allen had gone inside, Sam lowered Niki down from the camel. "Avelayans, am I right, Jack? Sometimes they can be so trying. As much as I view Allen as my friend, the things he does make me want to rip my hair out and throw the full force of Iskaydrian Law
at him."
Niki drew a shaky breath.
Sam appeared to notice his uneasiness. "Nikolas, I won't actually hurt him or you. Sometimes I have to be rough with him when he messes up. It's . . . don't be afraid of me. I love Avelayans, when they obey. I don't see you disobeying, so you have nothing to worry about. Why are you looking at me like that? Jack, why is your Time Knight glaring at me like he wants to murder me with his bare hands?"
"Niki was forced into this, Dad. Mr. Allen trained him from when he was a baby, telling him that he was nothing more than a slave-in-the-making. And why? Because of the blood he carries. That's it. Niki didn't choose this because he wanted to serve me. He was threatened with being sold in Alvezenden or put out on the streets. You are my father and I have always loved you, even though I didn't remember you, but I can't allow you speak to him like this. What you do with Mr. Allen is your business. However, I ask you . . . no, I'm telling you to never speak that way about Avelayans around Niki. I won't stand for it."
Sam cleared his throat and smoothed the wrinkles out of the front of his robe. He stepped up to Niki and bowed. "Forgive me, Nikolas. I had no idea what you have gone through. If Jack follows a different interpretation of Iskaydrian Law, that is between you and him. I apologize for the way I spoke about your race. I genuinely mean you no harm."
Niki's voice quivered. "Jack?"
"It's okay, Niki."
"He beat Allen with a belt." Niki snarled like a rabid animal. "I've heard the stories many times. He hates Avelayans. One time, he locked Allen in a shed in the snow, naked. When he went to fetch him the next morning, Allen was nearly dead. He had to take him to the hospital and they told the doctors that it was an accident. Another time, the car broke down and he made Allen pull it through a rainstorm. When he slipped and fell, your good old daddy made him lay in the road until a car ran over his legs, breaking them both. Then there was the time he strung him up in a butcher shop by meat hooks in his back . . . oh my God."
Jack covered his mouth. "Niki . . ."
"Allen planned the torture for me that he went through. He hated the meat hooks the worst. What else did you do to Allen in that butcher shop, Mr. Carter?"
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